How to Photograph Stars on Xiaomi: A Complete Guide

Modern smartphones, especially Xiaomi’s flagship models, have become powerful tools for mobile astrophotography. Until a few years ago, stargazing was the preserve of expensive SLR cameras and professional lenses, but today computational photography algorithms allow you to get impressive results right out of your pocket. If you want to capture the Milky Way or just a beautiful starry sky above the horizon, your Xiaomi will cope with this.

But automatic modes often fail to properly evaluate a scene in complete darkness, producing either a black frame or a blurred spot. The key to success lies in the right location, stable device fixation, and competent manual adjustment of exposure settings. In this article, we will take a detailed look at the entire process, from equipment preparation to post-processing images, so you can unlock the potential of your camera.

You don't have to be a professional photographer to take the first shot of space, you just have to follow proven algorithms and understand the physics of low-light photography, 30 seconds or more of exposure is a critical parameter for capturing the light of distant stars that you can't get automatically. Let's start tuning your device.

Choosing a place and time to shoot stars

The first thing to start with is finding the right location: light pollution from cities, lights and advertising signs creates a "light dome" that completely covers the faint glow of stars. To make good surveys, you need to move at least 20-30 kilometers away from populated areas. Use specialized maps of light pollution to find the "dark sky" in your area.

The second critical factor is the moon phase: bright moonlight acts in the same way as city light, blurring starry contrast. The ideal time to shoot is the new moon period or when the moon is low above the horizon or has not yet risen. Check the lunar calendar before leaving to make sure that the night light does not interfere with your plan.

Weather is also important. Clouds can spoil the shot, but sometimes the clouds can add to the drama of the composition. However, high humidity can cause the lens of a smartphone to fog, which will be fatal to the sharpness of the shot. Always bring a microfiber and check the optics before each frame.

⚠️ Warning: Never point your camera at the Sun, even if it is hidden behind the horizon, in long exposure mode – this can damage the sensor matrix.

Necessary equipment and preparation of the smartphone

The most important tool for astrophotography on a smartphone is a tripod. It is technically impossible to remove stars from your hands, since any, even microscopic hand tremors, will lead to lubrication. For Xiaomi, both professional heavy tripods and light flexible models ("hyripods") are suitable, the main thing is to ensure the absolute immobility of the gadget for 20-30 seconds.

In addition, it is strongly recommended to turn off all notifications and put the phone in flight mode. an incoming call or message can interrupt the shooting process, especially if you use third-party apps or a timer. Battery charge also plays a role: prolonged exposure and screen operation in the dark quickly put the battery down, so powerbank will not be superfluous.

To protect against dew and condensation, especially in the cold season, you can use special heating pads for lenses or just keep the phone warm until you shoot. A sharp temperature drop leads to fogging of the glass, and the frame will be spoiled. Wipe the lens with an alcohol napkin before you start working.

• 📱 A tripod or solid support (stone, parapet) for fixation.
• 🔋 Powerbank in case of long shooting in the cold season.
• 🧼 Microfiber for cleaning optics from dust and condensate.
• 🧤 Gloves with the ability to control the touch screen (for winter shooting).

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Use a 3-5 second self-start timer, even with a tripod. Pressing your finger on the screen causes a micro-vibration that will lubricate the frame when you are shuttered long.

Use of the built-in Night Mode

The easiest way to take photos of stars on Xiaomi is to use the built-in Night mode. In modern models like the Xiaomi 13 Ultra or Xiaomi 14 Pro, this mode uses algorithms of a lot of frame shooting and artificial intelligence to add up information about light. The camera takes a series of images with different exposures and combines them, removing noise and increasing detail.

To activate this mode, open the Camera app and select "More" and then "Night." In some versions of the MIUI or HyperOS shell, this mode may simply be called "Night Shooting." After pressing the down button, the phone will ask you to hold it still for a few seconds, at which time the screen will count down.

The mode's efficiency depends on the processor and sensor model. Flagship models with optical stabilization (OIS) can afford slightly longer exposure from the hands, but for stars it's still better to use a tripod. The algorithms do a great job of white balance, but can sometimes make the sky look unnaturally blue or purple.

⚠️ Note: In Night mode, do not move the phone until the frame is processed, otherwise the photo will be blurred or interrupted.

Manual settings in PRO (Professional) mode

To get a really good result and complete control of the process, you need to switch to PRO (Professional) mode, which allows you to manually control shutter speed, ISO, focus and white balance, and you can find it from the "More" menu -> PRO or Manual.

First, set your focus. Autofocus in the dark is a terrible thing, so you put it in manual mode (MF). On the focus scale, move the slider toward the mountain or infinity icon. Don't maximize, often the sharpness is just before the end point. Take a test shot of a bright star and zoom in to check for sharpness.

Next, set the shutter speed (S or Shutter). For the starry sky, the optimal value is 15 to 30 seconds. If you put more, stars will turn into tracks (lines) because of the rotation of the Earth. ISO set in the range 800-3200. High ISO will add noise, and low will not "pull" stars.

Recommended starting settings for PRO-mode:


Shutter speed (S): 30 seconds




ISO: 1600-3200




Focus (MF): Manual, to infinity




White balance (WB): 3500-4500K (for cold skies)




Format: RAW (if available)

Comparison of shooting modes: Automatic vs Manual

Understanding the difference between automatic algorithms and manual tuning will help you choose the right strategy for a particular scene. Automation is good for quick snapshots when you don't have time to tinker with settings. However, manual mode provides predictable results and allows you to create.

The table below compares the main parameters so that you can quickly navigate the choice of mode for your situation.

It’s worth noting that PRO mode on Xiaomi sometimes has a shutter speed limit of 30 seconds, which is due to the features of the image processing (ISP). If you want a longer shutter speed, you will have to use third-party applications, which will be discussed later.

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For the best quality, always choose RAW shooting and manual focusing, even if the automatic mode seems good enough on the phone screen.

Third-party applications for advanced shooting

If Xiaomi’s standard camera doesn’t provide enough control or limit shutter speed, third-party apps come to the rescue.One of the best solutions is the Open Camera or the paid ProCam X. These apps are able to work with the Android camera API at a deeper level, allowing you to bypass some software limitations.

Open Camera allows you to activate Camera2 API support, which allows you to fully manually control the sensor. In the application settings, you need to find the "Camera2 API" and turn it on, and then the exposure settings menu will allow you to select shutter speeds up to a few minutes, which is necessary for shooting tracks of stars or very dim objects.

Another popular option is to use apps with Stacking function, which take a series of short frames and automatically fold them, reducing digital noise better than any single long frame, and this is especially true for smartphones with small sensors that make a lot of noise at high ISO.

• 📸 Open Camera – free, open source and full manual control.
• 🌌 ProCam X – paid, with a convenient interface and support RAW.
• 🚀 Long Exposure Camera 2 – a specialized application for long exposures.

Processing and editing of astro-photo

A RAW image can look pale and gray right after you shoot it. That's OK. The real magic happens in the post-processing phase. The Snapseed, Lightroom Mobile or VSCO apps are great for editing on the smartphone itself.

First of all, work with exposure and contrast. Raise Shadows and Blacks to show details in the dark sky. Be careful with Highlights not to over-light bright stars. Color correction is also important: shift the temperature toward colder shades for deep space or warmer if there is a foreground (earth with fire or light).

Make sure to use the Noise Reduction tool, but without fanaticism. Excessive noise cancellation will turn stars into mush. It's better to leave some graininess, keeping the star points clear. Local correction will only brighten the sky without affecting the dark silhouette of the earth.

⚠️ Warning: When editing, don't overdo it with saturation: Artificially bright, acid-filled skies look unnatural and make photography cheaper.

Frequent mistakes when shooting stars

Beginner photographers often make the same mistakes that negate all effort. One of the most common is using digital zoom. Approximation of a picture on a smartphone is just a crop of a matrix, which dramatically reduces quality and adds noise. It's better to shoot wide, and then crop it during processing.

Another mistake is to ignore the foreground. A picture of an empty sky is boring. Always try to include a tree, a tent, a mountain or a silhouette of a person in the frame. This will create scale and context. However, remember that objects on the ground will be black silhouettes unless you illuminate them with a flashlight during long exposure.

Also, many forget to turn off the flash. In star mode, the flash is completely useless and only consumes battery power, make sure it is turned off, and also turn off macro mode if it is activated automatically when it is brought to objects.